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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29098071">if you can take a minute, would you mind?</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/swimmingseafish/pseuds/swimmingseafish'>swimmingseafish</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Kerra Ficlets [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Guild Wars 2 (Video Game)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Gen, Grief/Mourning, Implied/Referenced Character Death, it's not super heavy I don't think but it's definitely a major theme, mild spoilers for personal story in case anyone reading this needs that tag!</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-01-31</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-01-31</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 13:07:41</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Not Rated</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>725</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29098071</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/swimmingseafish/pseuds/swimmingseafish</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Aftermath of personal story section "Ships of the Line," featuring Kerra and Elli.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Kerra Ficlets [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2134962</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>if you can take a minute, would you mind?</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>(Title is from Words of the Wise by Truslow.)</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>After the Pact takes the beach, they set up camp for about an hour. Marshal Trahearne, Commander Kerralind, and the rest of the Pact leadership converse about their next move while the wounded are tended to and the dead are sorted, identified, and wrapped in shrouds.</p><p> </p><p>Elli sees none of it. Kerra touches her shoulder briefly before she goes, but Elli shrugs off the Commander’s hand and returns to her vigil beside Zott’s body.</p><p> </p><p>She’d loved him, and she wasn’t even sure if he’d heard her say it before he died. She can’t stop thinking of what an utter waste it was—a loss of time that she and the world could spend in his presence, with his ideas, with his heart.</p><p> </p><p>She’d fallen for his ideas first, for the workings of his mind and the way he thought and argued and was cautious to temper her bright spark. And she’d just realized that she loved his heart as well—the stubborn determination to come save her no matter what. The goal was to cleanse Orr, to kill Zhaitan. But she was his goal, too—right up there at the top, she’s pretty certain. And he had become hers.</p><p> </p><p>Eventually, the sorters of the dead reach Elli and Zott, and she allows them to take his body, though she follows them every step of the way. She watches the carts carry off the fallen back towards Fort Trinity until they’re out of sight.</p><p> </p><p>What feels like hours later (but was probably only about half of one), Elli finds the Commander sitting outside, glowing a faint purple in the fading light from the sunset. She sits quietly atop the ruins of a pillar, staring off towards the heart of Orr. Her face is hard to read.</p><p> </p><p>Elli knows she should get back to work, knows she <em>needs</em> to get back to work before she breaks down, but she can’t leave her friend to her thoughts, even if emotions aren’t her strong suit. So, she moves to Kerra’s side and taps the Commander on the shoulder. (A subdued greeting coming from her, really.)</p><p> </p><p>“Hey, Commander.”</p><p> </p><p>Kerralind jumps, just a little, before turning to face her. “Oh. Hi, Elli.”</p><p> </p><p>Elli sits down next to Kerra. She’s a little above average height for a sylvari, and, even sitting, towers above Elli. Admittedly, though, that’s not hard to do. “Shouldn’t you be with the Marshal?”</p><p> </p><p>Kerra sighs, staring down at her hands. She clenches and unclenches them, briefly hiding the sword calluses on her upper palms. “He told me to take a moment.”</p><p> </p><p>“Had enough war, then, Commander?” It comes out bitter.</p><p> </p><p>Kerra lets out a halfway broken laugh. “I think any war is enough war,” she says. “I’ve had enough of losing friends.” A hiccup. A tiny sob. “You should have had time with him. I should have made sure of it.”</p><p> </p><p>“You’re not all-powerful, Kerry,” says Elli. There’s no compassion in her voice, only a hardness that spells out the truth in her words. “And there’s no undoing the past. Maybe I’ll invent time travel one day. It’d be an interesting departure from my holograms, but the paradoxes involved…” She shakes her head for a moment before continuing. “…I’d rather keep Zott alive through making new holograms to kick Risen ass.”</p><p> </p><p>They both laugh, just a little. But nothing about the situation is funny.</p><p> </p><p>Elli is used to having nearly endless energy, but she’s tired for the first time in years. Simultaneously, she needs to go do something. This constant itch of grief is propelling her to work and work and work some more. So, Elli stands up, brushing dust from the pillar and Risen off her pants.</p><p> </p><p>“I still can’t quite believe he’s gone,” Elli says, and Kerra turns her head, her eyes bright. “But I won’t give up, and I will help you and the Marshal and the Pact defeat Zhaitan.” Elli puts her hand on Kerra’s shoulder. “And I don’t blame you for his death. I blame that worthless sack of flesh that we pounded back into the dirt where he belongs. Get some rest, Commander.”</p><p> </p><p>“You too, Elli,” says Kerra, smiling a small smile that doesn’t quite reach her eyes.</p><p> </p><p>Just as Elli starts walking away, Kerra calls her name. She turns around.</p><p> </p><p>“Zhaitan will fall, just like Rami did. And that’s a promise."</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Thanks for reading! There will definitely be more GW2 fics from me in the future, so if you liked this one, look out for those.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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